Improvement in well-packings



1. H.--LUTHER'.

Well-Packing.

No. 134,995. Patented-lan.21,1873.

Fay Z Mfairzeuvea. Zia $22507:

UNITED. STATES JAMES H. LUTHER, OF PETROLEUM CENTRE, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN WELL-PACKINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 134,995, dated January21, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES H. LUTHER, of Petroleum Centre, in the countyof Venan go and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulWater-Packer for Oil-Wells; and I do hereby declare the following to bea full and correct description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawin g, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section of thatpart of an oil-well in which, the casing is to be inserted, my waterpacker being shown in place ready for the reception of the casing. Fig.2 is a vertical central section of my water-packer with the well-casingin place upon it. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of my waterpackercomplete, with the packing in place. Fig. 4 is a similar view of thesame without the packing. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a modifiedform of the packer, which I contemplate using in some cases.

In the first four figures the same part is marked by the same letter ofreference wherever it occurs. In Fig. 5 the lettering is independent.

My invention consists in the peculiar construction hereinafter describedof a waterpacker to be used at the bottom of the easing-tube ofoil-wells as a substitute for the seed-bag and other water-packers nowin use.

In the drawing, W marks that portion of an oil-well which receives thebottom of the casing-tube. It has a shoulder at its lower end, where itnarrows for the reception of the lower portion of the tubing, or thatwhich is not surrounded by the casing. It is at this point where itbecomes necessary to provide means'for keeping the water which maypercolate through the adjoining soil from entering the casing andgetting into the lower part of the well. My water-packer effectuallyaccomplishes this object.

The form of the packer is very clearly shown in the drawing. Itsdiameter is equal to that of the portion of the well which receives thecasing. From the body P of the packer four fingers, a a a. a, projectupward along the walls of the well, their purpose being to receive thelower end of the casing O and guide it to its seat Z. This seat is aring of lead, inserted in the body of the packer in the position shown.The lower portion 0 of the body of the packer is cylindrical, andreceives the beveled ring 1', which is held on by a rim, t, at thebottom of the cylindrical part c. The ring 1' has free play on c. Thespace between the body P of the packer and the ring 1" is to be woundwith cotton-wicking w or other suitable packing of a compressiblecharacter. The appearance of the packer when thus wound is shown in Fig.3. It is now lowered into the well W until it reaches the shoulder atthat part of the well where the lower end of the casing is to rest. Thebottom of ring 1 rests upon this shoulder, as shown in Fig. l. Thecasing O is next introduced, and when its lower end reaches the arms a aa a they receive and guide it till it rests upon the leaden ring 1", asshown in Fig. 2. The great weight of the casing causes the lower end toembed'itself in the lead and form a water-tight joint. The weight of thecasing tends to force the body P of the packer through the ring a, andthus drive the packing to into close contact with the walls of the well,effectually preventing any water which may accumulate between the wellwalls and the casin g from getting into or below the latter.

This method of packing has the great ad- I vantage of offering noobstacle to the ready removal of the casing when desired.

In Fig. 5 I have represented a modification of the invention, in which,for the elastic packing a, I substitute a ring of lead, (Z, on the lowerend of the body 0 of the packer, which I make conical in form to enter acavity of corresponding shape in the lower part of W.

In other respects thispacker does not differ from those shown in theother figures. The compression of the lead 01 against the conicalcavityanswers the same purpose as the forcing of the elastic packing againstthe sides of the well.

Leather or soft metal might be substituted for lead in making the ringr, upon which the casin g rests.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Iet ters Patent, is

1. The combination of the body P of the packer with the movable ring rand the elastic packing w, arranged and operating as de scribed.

2. The compressible ring I, inserted in the top of the packer to form awater-tight seat tion signed and witnessed at Petroleum ,Cenfor thelower end of the casing, as described. trc this 5th day of December, A.D. 1872. 3. The combination with the packer P of J. H. LUTHER. the armsa a a a-, for the purpose of guiding the lower end of the casing to itsseat, as Witnesses: specified. DANIL' JONES,

The above specification of my said inven- CHAS. F. STANSBURY.

